Portable and field-deployable analytical platforms for water monitoring. This project sets out to tackle one of the costliest and most challenging environmental problems, namely, nutrient pollution in water systems. At present, nutrient pollutant monitoring is predominantly carried out using an antiquated manual approach with numerous shortcomings, inadequate to achieve truly effective water quality management. The in-situ analyser developed and deployed within this project will provide continuo ....Portable and field-deployable analytical platforms for water monitoring. This project sets out to tackle one of the costliest and most challenging environmental problems, namely, nutrient pollution in water systems. At present, nutrient pollutant monitoring is predominantly carried out using an antiquated manual approach with numerous shortcomings, inadequate to achieve truly effective water quality management. The in-situ analyser developed and deployed within this project will provide continuous real-time observations and will allow users to remotely monitor water quality; alerting them to pollutant levels, enabling immediate action to be taken to prevent environmental damage. The system is low-cost, facilitating mass adoption, yet delivers an analytical performance comparable to leading laboratory analysers. Read moreRead less
Improved electrophoretic analyser for water quality monitoring. This proposal will advance the Australian made Eco Detection portable electrophoretic analyser for autonomous monitoring of water chemistry - the Eco Sensor. We will re-design and miniaturise the fluidic manifold to reduce capital- and per-sample cost, increase the sensitivity of nutrients - nitrate and phospate - by 100-times in both fresh- and sea-waters, and develop new ultra-sensitive reagents for heavy metal detection at enviro ....Improved electrophoretic analyser for water quality monitoring. This proposal will advance the Australian made Eco Detection portable electrophoretic analyser for autonomous monitoring of water chemistry - the Eco Sensor. We will re-design and miniaturise the fluidic manifold to reduce capital- and per-sample cost, increase the sensitivity of nutrients - nitrate and phospate - by 100-times in both fresh- and sea-waters, and develop new ultra-sensitive reagents for heavy metal detection at environmentally regulated levels. This will provide a single platform for at-site near-real-time monitoring of water chemistry for agricultural, mining, water corporations and other industries that use and/or discharge water to the environment. Read moreRead less
Automated Sensors for a ‘wetland in a box’. Globally, and particularly in Australia, water supply and water pollution is one of the most critical constraints to our health and growth. This project seeks to validate a new portable remediation system suitable for deployment at regional locations through the integration and development of advanced sensors. We aim to develop the world’s first completely integrated platform for monitoring both water chemistry and microbiology to provide near-real-tim ....Automated Sensors for a ‘wetland in a box’. Globally, and particularly in Australia, water supply and water pollution is one of the most critical constraints to our health and growth. This project seeks to validate a new portable remediation system suitable for deployment at regional locations through the integration and development of advanced sensors. We aim to develop the world’s first completely integrated platform for monitoring both water chemistry and microbiology to provide near-real-time information regarding the quality of the remediated water. We expect this to improve the availability of regional water resources by providing a low-cost remediation solution with integrated monitoring to provide assurances of meeting the Australian Guidelines for Water Recycling (2006).Read moreRead less
Understanding the health effects of landscape burning and biomass smoke in Australian towns and cities. Bushfires are increasingly affecting Australian towns and cities directly and indirectly from episodes of severe air pollution. An approach to manage bushfires is to reduce fuel loads by setting planned fires under stable weather conditions, yet this strategy is controversial because of community concerns about ecological sustainability and negative health impacts from smoke. The relative im ....Understanding the health effects of landscape burning and biomass smoke in Australian towns and cities. Bushfires are increasingly affecting Australian towns and cities directly and indirectly from episodes of severe air pollution. An approach to manage bushfires is to reduce fuel loads by setting planned fires under stable weather conditions, yet this strategy is controversial because of community concerns about ecological sustainability and negative health impacts from smoke. The relative importance of air pollution from planned and unplanned bushfires vs. wood heaters, agricultural burning and other sources of air pollution will be determined. Our study will enable evidence-based bushfire smoke management, help formulate national air quality standards and shape policies regarding biomass smoke and bushfire management.Read moreRead less
Managing at the Margins: Women Making it Work in Precarious Times. This project aims to investigate the economic, social and emotional impacts of precarious work on women. Focusing on the challenges that arise from juggling precarious work with care responsibilities and/or demands from the social support system, the project identifies the strategies women have to manage these demands, and the impacts these demands have on everyday lives across different life stages. By combining otherwise separa ....Managing at the Margins: Women Making it Work in Precarious Times. This project aims to investigate the economic, social and emotional impacts of precarious work on women. Focusing on the challenges that arise from juggling precarious work with care responsibilities and/or demands from the social support system, the project identifies the strategies women have to manage these demands, and the impacts these demands have on everyday lives across different life stages. By combining otherwise separate bodies of literature with innovative quantitative and qualitative data, the project seeks to generate new knowledge about the impacts of precarious work on women and families. This knowledge is expected to inform policies and services to improve women’s lives and promote economic inclusion and social cohesion.Read moreRead less
Threats to the water quality and ecosystem of Coffin Bay, South Australia. Coffin Bay (South Australia) is experiencing worsening environmental conditions despite its major economic and ecological importance. Research is needed to understand the cause of this decline, particularly in light of a recent bacterial outbreak that impacted the aquaculture industry. This multidisciplinary project aims to deliver world-leading scientific advice based on novel field techniques and innovative models of th ....Threats to the water quality and ecosystem of Coffin Bay, South Australia. Coffin Bay (South Australia) is experiencing worsening environmental conditions despite its major economic and ecological importance. Research is needed to understand the cause of this decline, particularly in light of a recent bacterial outbreak that impacted the aquaculture industry. This multidisciplinary project aims to deliver world-leading scientific advice based on novel field techniques and innovative models of this complex inverse estuary system and its surrounding catchment. The new understanding of the sources, fluxes and fate of nutrients within the bay and the surrounding catchment, arising from this project, is expected to benefit management decision-making and establish a new standard in estuarine water quality investigation.Read moreRead less
Bushfire smoke and the relationship between human and landscape health. A team of landscape ecologists, environmental chemists and public health specialists will determine the ecological causes and adverse health effects of different levels of bushfire smoke in Darwin. Darwin is an ideal setting for this research because the only source of air pollution is the high incidence of controlled and uncontrolled bushfires during the dry season causing variable air quality: a preliminary study found a ....Bushfire smoke and the relationship between human and landscape health. A team of landscape ecologists, environmental chemists and public health specialists will determine the ecological causes and adverse health effects of different levels of bushfire smoke in Darwin. Darwin is an ideal setting for this research because the only source of air pollution is the high incidence of controlled and uncontrolled bushfires during the dry season causing variable air quality: a preliminary study found a link between smoke pollution levels and asthma. The findings of the proposed research will contribute to improved fire management practices to reduce injurious smoke pollution events and contribute to setting appropriate national air quality standards.Read moreRead less
Designing Human Resource Practices that Promote the Retention of Volunteers. This project aims to examine the effects of human resources practices on the attraction and retention of high-quality volunteers. Volunteers provide essential health and educational services to the Australian population, which makes it important for non-profit organisations to develop effective human resource practices that attract and retain the best people. However, non-profit organisations often struggle to attract a ....Designing Human Resource Practices that Promote the Retention of Volunteers. This project aims to examine the effects of human resources practices on the attraction and retention of high-quality volunteers. Volunteers provide essential health and educational services to the Australian population, which makes it important for non-profit organisations to develop effective human resource practices that attract and retain the best people. However, non-profit organisations often struggle to attract and retain a sufficient number of volunteers. This project will examine the effects of three human resource practices on the thriving and organisational attachment of volunteers using theories of motivation and retention. This knowledge is intended to help governments and non-profit organisations improve on policies and procedures to manage Australia’s volunteer workforce sustainably.Read moreRead less
Managing urban trees. Managing urban trees. This project aims to explore the effects of different urban tree types and plantings on people and wildlife in Melbourne, Moreland and Ballarat so they can better plan their future urban forests. Local governments spend millions of dollars planting and maintaining urban trees every year. Research provides little guidance to these land managers when making critical decisions in a rapidly changing social and physical environment. This project will combin ....Managing urban trees. Managing urban trees. This project aims to explore the effects of different urban tree types and plantings on people and wildlife in Melbourne, Moreland and Ballarat so they can better plan their future urban forests. Local governments spend millions of dollars planting and maintaining urban trees every year. Research provides little guidance to these land managers when making critical decisions in a rapidly changing social and physical environment. This project will combine tree inventory data with new information on the social and ecological effects of trees (e.g. human well-being, bird diversity). This research is expected to guide future tree management decisions that have better social and environmental outcomes for Australia’s cities.Read moreRead less
Global Citizen Deliberation: Analysing a Deliberative Documentary. The project will enact and film the world’s first truly global citizens’ deliberation, a global citizens’ assembly (GCA) on genome editing, and proceed to analyse the impact of the ‘deliberative documentary’ film on public understanding of complex, fast-evolving science and technology. It will investigate the cross-cultural capacity of citizens to deliberate complex value-laden issues, and so ascertain prospects for an informed g ....Global Citizen Deliberation: Analysing a Deliberative Documentary. The project will enact and film the world’s first truly global citizens’ deliberation, a global citizens’ assembly (GCA) on genome editing, and proceed to analyse the impact of the ‘deliberative documentary’ film on public understanding of complex, fast-evolving science and technology. It will investigate the cross-cultural capacity of citizens to deliberate complex value-laden issues, and so ascertain prospects for an informed global public response to challenges posed by genome editing. Research will test the effects of the deliberative documentary on viewers, examining benefits of communicating complex issues via the work of the GCA. Other benefits include improving public trust in governance and advancing the Australian film industry.
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